The Wounded Superhero

In 'Hancock,' Will Smith attempts to deconstruct the superhero genre,
to sub-super effect.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/144200

In 'Hancock,' Will Smith attempts to deconstruct the superhero genre,
to sub-super effect.
magine that Superman was a foul-mouthed, angry drunk, and that he
dressed like a homeless bum, made rude passes at women in the street
and when he went flying off to foil criminals, he created so much
collateral damage with his reckless heroics that the public reviled
him as a menace to society. That, in a nutshell, is the premise of
"Hancock," Will Smith's attempt to reinvent the superhero genre.
There's lots of potential there, though the question arises whether
the concept is more suitable to a five-minute "Saturday Night Live"
skit than to a feature film.

Several years back, I added up the box office receipts and published in
one of my books that the #1 box office star in the world was not Tom
Cruise (as the common wisdom of the time said), but Will Smith.

So $cientology poisoning wrecked the Cruiser, and contributed to
blowing out his deal with Paramount, killing (for the time being) the
Mission: Impossible franchise.

If Will Smith goes down with $cientology (looking increasingly likely),
thus killing off or seriously wounding another #1 world box office
star, will the studios figure out a way to take revenge on the cult of
greed and power?

Sounds goofy but you know, it could happen. At the very least, I think
people would start thinking twice about having activist $cientologists
heavily involved in very high cost movies.

King County licensed social worker suspended on sexual misconduct charges

OLYMPIA - The state Department of Health has immediately suspended the social
worker license of Thomas Gill (LW00005015) on charges of sexual misconduct. This
action means Gill cannot practice as a social worker pending further action by
the department.

The charges say that Gill served as a "respite provider" for a minor client and
that during some of the overnight stays at Gill

A licensed psychiatrist in Nevada for 23 years, Horne is a former member of the
state's Commission on Mental Health and Developmental Services and is executive
director of the International Scouting Museum in Las Vegas.

A summary of the Medical Examiners complaint says his conduct "fell below the
appropriate standard of care when he engaged in a relationship with a former
patient" in violation of state law. ReviewJournal.com

Psychiatrists just feel that they are above the law - actually they are so
insane that they cannot control their behavior - nor can they help others with
their behavior.

Trudy

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,374246,00.html#

FoxNews
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
By Roger Friedman

"Will Smith: Getting His $100 Goat

Much is being made of the private school funded by Will and Jada Pinkett
Smith in Calabasas, Calif.

Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times published an article about New
Village Academy, citing its inclusion of Scientology teaching in its
curriculum. Some of the teachers, the Times said, are Scientologists. The
Smiths deny being members of the group.

I told you in this column last year that Smith had donated money to
Scientology's LEAP curriculum. The Smiths' burgeoning friendship with Tom
Cruise, Will Smith's proclamations about Cruise's incredible work ethic and
even Smith's new movie, "Hancock," which is about a reluctant superhero,
point to an interest in the religious sect started by science fiction writer
L. Ron Hubbard.

Excerpt from :
http://www.411mania.com/movies/columns/79160/411-Movies-Roundtable:-July-2008-Part...

"Will Smith can do no wrong (Scientology rumors aside). When he's not
garnering Academy Award nominations, he's pulling in huge bank for the
studios. While people will debate I Am Legend's quality forever, it was an
absolutely HUGE film. This one looks to be really funny, though I'm not sure
about the plot - they seem to be giving too much away in the trailer, and it
seems sort of thin. But hey, let Will be action-guy, let Charlize Theron be
hot, and let Jason Bateman be hilarious, and you've got a winner in my book.
Really, what's not to like here?"

Excerpt from
http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/07/blues_fest_preview_isaac_hayes...

"In 2006, though, Hayes not only quit "South Park" because of its depiction
of his religion, Scientology, but he also suffered a stroke. Rumors swirled
about his health, his voice and his relationship with the show. As he
gradually recovered, he began playing concerts again. "I am continuing to
get stronger and stronger," he wrote."

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/undergod/2008/07/signing_over_under_god...

Newsweek.washingtonpost.com
Posted by Claire Hoffman on July 1, 2008 2:42 AM

"Signing Over Under God

Well this is my farewell note to readers of this blog. From now on, On
Faith's illustrious editor and longtime religion writer David Waters will be
writing under this banner with a different perspective and different
interests, but with the same commitment to exploring and evaluating the
impact of belief in the news and on our lives.

I leave with a much stronger sense of the enormity of the ways that people
think of belief. Having studied anthropology and attended divinity school, I
had embraced a detached intellectual excitement for religion. Now, after
wrestling with and writing about the big news of the day, from the raid on
the FLDS in Texas to the tension between Tibet and China to the battles over
Scientology over the past six months, I have gained an appreciation for just
how many different ways we approach the transcendent.

But I leave -- I should add -- less certain that I thought I was about
exactly what encompasses religion and belief. It's a funny thing to say at
the end, but I think I understand religion less than ever.